Aadesh Shrivastava: To Hell & Back

It’s said that a family that prays together, stays together. But in singer/composer Aadesh Shrivastava’s case it can be rephrased as, ‘A family that suffers together, stays together’. Not very long ago, in 2010, Aadesh, his wife Vijayta (actor/singer) and their young sons Avitesh (16) and Anivesh (13) went through the most excruciating times when it was discovered that the musician was suffering from multiple myeloma (cancer of the plasma cells). Today, Aadesh has emerged from the trauma with sheer resilience and is back to making music.

“My life has changed. I’ve become 90 per cent vegetarian and stay away from alcohol. I never smoked anyway. Now I eat and sleep on time. Apart from yoga, I’ve started playing squash. I also swim as my muscles have atrophied. My bones still hurt,” he says softly. “God has sent me back for the sake of my kids. Vijayta is now a complete housewife and is not aware of the changing world. How would they have survived?” he says looking fondly at his children. “Avitesh wants to act; he’s just out of school. Anivesh is in school. He’s learning music.”

THE BIG C

Aadesh goes back to the time when he was first diagnosed with cancer.

“I’d tire easily. I’d start panting even if I climbed a few steps. So I went off to my farm in Lonavla to relax. “The lake opposite my house has a tree. When I couldn’t see it, I thought someone had cut it. But my son Avitesh said, ‘Dad, the tree is there!’ I had begun to lose my vision. I panicked and returned to Mumbai.” A series of tests revealed that Aadesh’s haemoglobin was low, around 7.5 percent and that he was suffering from multiple myeloma.

It took him almost 10 months of chemotherapy to recover.

“After the boys would go to sleep, Vijayta and I’d cry at night. Vijayta’s sister-in-law, Meena Pandit (her brother and composer Lalit’s wife), stood by us like a rock. She’d accompany me to the hospital because Vijayta couldn’t bear to see me in pain. It was tortuous when the central line was put right up to my heart for stem cell treatment,” he shares. “The treatment is expensive and most can’t afford it. I had to sell my Hummer car for the treatment,” he reveals.

The side effects of chemotherapy were agonising.

“I couldn’t sleep at night; the soles of my feet would burn. I felt as though nails and needles were being pierced in my legs. Even medicines to numb the nerves didn’t work.” He continues, “After the stem cell transplant, for two days I was drowsy with pain killers. On the third day when I walked to the washroom and saw myself in the mirror, I was shocked! I sank into depression as I was shades darker and had lost my hair. After this shock, my vital parameters began to waver. Dr Tapan Saikia (renowned oncologist) said, ‘What’s wrong with you? You’re a fighter. You do yoga even with the pipes attached’. He asked the nurse to remove the mirrors from the room.” Aadesh adds, “Later, when I went for a check-up, I had worn a mask. Dr Saikia pointed out that several chemotherapy patients waiting outside travelled by local trains. He asked me to live as normally as possible.”

The torment made him spiritual.

“I read the translations of the Holy Quran, the Bible and the Bhagvad Gita. I chanted Buddhist hymns, the Mahamrityunjaya jaap, the Gayatri mantra and the Surya mantra.”

MAKING MUSIC

While, the crusade to get his late brother’s family its due is on, it’s music that keeps him going. More recently, Aadesh’s Sufi-ballad Mora piya from Raajneeti, gave a lyrical mood to Prakash Jha’s political thriller. The track composed in raag durbari has already received four crore hits. He’s also scoring the music for Jha’s upcoming Chakravyuh. He adds, “I’ve recently recorded a solo number for my album Sound Of Peace with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. One track has also been sung by Amitabh Bachchan and Rashid Khan. Vijayta and Padmini Kolhapure have sung a Hindi-Marathi prayer, urging that 9/11 (terror attack in Mumbai in 2008) should never happen again.”

Aadesh has been the only Indian performer to have collaborated with international artistes like T-Pain, Soulja Boy, Wyclef Jean, Norah Jones, Queen Latifa and Shakira. About Wyclef he says, “Before I went to meet him in Manhattan, he had already Googled me. He thought I’d arrive in a plane as I had scored for 88 films and done the background score for 130. There the artiste is a superstar. Here, the royalty is enjoyed by audio companies. Soulja Boy has few tracks to his credit but owns a jet! ”

Aadesh’s bonding with American R&B superstar Akon is well-known. “We know each other since seven years. I’ve performed with Akon in the House Of Blues,” says Aadesh who recorded the track One For the World with him. But above everything is his desire to serve through music. “I want to do a show for young people suffering from myeloma. I’ve realised — career or money — nothing matters more than health.”